Our text is the account of our Lord’s healing of the centurion’s servant. This centurion was a Roman, a pagan, but he exhibited great faith in Jesus. His faith was so great that it prompted Jesus to say (vs. 10): “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” We heard a wonderful testimony Wednesday evening of multiple incidents where men placed their faith in God and saw Him answer and meet their needs. They were taught that faith by their dad as they were growing up. It is the kind of faith and dedication to the Lord we need to teach our children and the young people of this church today. “Lord, turn the hearts of our children to You.” Today we are going to look at this faith like no other and what we must do to have it. Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (SUBSTANCE = foundation; prop; basis; confidence.) (HOPED = expected. It is the usual N.T. word for “hope.” Why do we expect things like the rapture, glorified bodies, the new heaven and new earth, etc? Faith! Because God’s Word tells us about these things, and we believe His Word. (EVIDENCE = demonstration, proof, convincing argument. Our faith is to be evidence to the world of things it cannot see - evidence of God, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, eternity, etc.) So, let me ask, “Is the way most (of us) believers live in relation to faith in God - not for salvation or service, but for supply - a convincing argument of His existence to the unsaved world?” Many of our prayer lives are weak because our faith is weak! I mention prayer here because prayer and faith go together. It seems that sometimes we pray half trusting God. We pray thinking, “Well, God will answer this prayer if He wants to.” Or, we pray hoping (as the world thinks of “ hope”) instead of expecting (biblical “hope”). And many prayers are not answered because we pray in a weak way. Why do we pray that way when Hebrews 4:14-16 says: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. (15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (BOLDLY = (a compound word)(meta = with ; parrhesia = out-spokeness; frankness; bluntness; assurance). “Let us come with assurance.” A man had a burden of service on his heart, set out to obey God, and asked God to supply the means to meet the burden. James 1:5-6 gives us an example of how to pray -- “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (6) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (WAVERING = to be in separation with in one’s self.) One who wavers is a person with divided, unsettled as a wave that is blown and tossed by the wind. And look at what James says about the one who asks wavering, who asks in weak faith - vs. 7: “For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Why? Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” [WITHOUT (FAITH) = (literally) at a space from; apart from.] [IMPOSSIBLE = is a compound word made up of “dunatos” with the negating “a” attached. “Dunatos” is from “dunamai,” which refers to “dynamic ability.” It speaks of being powerful, or capable. So, “a(not)dunatos” speaks of being weak and powerless.] [PLEASE = (euaresteo) to gratify entirely; to please well.] Without faith we are powerless to be well-pleasing to God. But what is “faith?” There was a song years ago that said, “Faith is just believing what God says, He will do.” However, biblical faith goes beyond that. [FAITH = (pistis) a firm persuasion, the conviction which is based upon hearing, not upon sight or knowledge.] The Scripture says in II Corinthians 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) . . . ” Faith is a “firmly relying confidence in what we hear from God in His Word” (Bullinger) This kind of faith is absolutely necessary to the true worship of God - “ . . . for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” “ . . . for he that cometh to him . . . ” [COMETH = to approach; come near; (figuratively, it refers to worship).] “ . . . must believe that he is . . . ” [BELIEVE = (pisteuo) to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to).] This is not just mental assent. That is what demons do. James 2:19: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils (demons) also believe, and tremble.” The use of the word here is TRUST. You don’t come near to or depend upon someone you don’t trust [DILIGENTLY SEEK = search out; crave; (a Hebraism for “worship.”)] We cannot truly worship God as we should and as He deserves without faith. So, let’s see what is necessary to have this kind of faith Jesus praised, this great faith.

I. GREAT FAITH COMES FROM HEARING THE WORD OF GOD - ROMANS 10:17.

II. GREAT FAITH COMES BY HAVING A DAILY WALK WITH GOD -- GENESIS 5:24.

III. GREAT FAITH COMES BY HEEDING THE WITNESS OF FAITHFUL SERVANTS OF GOD.

The book of Judges is an account of a 450 year period when God gave deliverers to His people Israel. It lasted from the time of Joshua’s death to the rise of Samuel, the prophet. In fact, Samuel is referred to by some as the last judge and the first prophet. However, before we can truly understand why these judges were needed, we must know what was going on. The first verse of this book reveals Israel’s problem, and the last verse of the book reveals their practice. Judges 1:1: “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?” Judges 21:25 offers us an overview of the book this book. It says, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges is an account of Israel’s cycle of rebellion, retribution, repentance, restoration, and rest. From Joshua 24:15 to Judges 1:28 is only a few years. In Joshua 24:15 we see Joshua’s challenge to Israel: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Vs. 19 Joshua warned the people that they would not be able to serve God. People make emotional, or as I call them revival service commitments to God that sound good at the time, but they usually don’t keep them. Have you ever prayed, “Lord, if You will get me out of this mess I am in, I will serve you faithfully?” Or, “Lord, if You will bless me I will serve you?” In Joshua 24:21-24 we see how the people indicted themselves before God. “And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord. (24) And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” However, we see in Judges 1:28 how Israel failed at their commitment to God: “And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.” God commanded the Israelites to enter Canaan and conquer it completely -- Deuteronomy 7:1-3, 5. They were to: 1) Vs. 1 -- Possess the land. 2) Vs. 2 -- Utterly destroy all the nations of Canaan. 3) Vs. 2 -- Make no peace treaties with them. 4) Vs. 2 -- Show them no mercy. 5) Vs. 3 -- Refuse to intermarry with them. 6) Vs. 5 -- Destroy every trace of their pagan religions. And in Deuteronomy 7:6 God explained the reason for this command: “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” God demanded total separation of His people from the practices of those about them. He knew if they entangled themselves with these they would become spiritually corrupt and be drawn away from Him. He promised to visit them suddenly in His wrath when that happened. Israel had their instructions, but they failed to fully obey. Judges 1:22-36 (vs. 28) records this failure of Israel. Nine times between Judges 1:19 and 1:35 the word “but” is used to reveal their failure - vv. 19, 21, 25, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35. God has instructed His people and His churches that we are to be separate from this world system -- II Corinthians 6:14-18 ; II Peter 1:15-16 (HOLY = set apart) ; II Corinthians 7:1 ; I John 2:15-16. So when we come to Judges 2:10 we are told: “There arose another generation which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done.” This was the generation that followed Joshua’s generation. We are one generation away from heresy. We need to teach these little ones NOW and not wait until they are grown. And we not only need to teach the what but the why of these great doctrines of the Bible. 2:7: “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.” In vs. 8 Joshua dies, “being an hundred and ten years old.” Vs. 10: “And also all that generation (Joshua’s generation, including the elders that “outlived Joshua”) were gathered unto their fathers . . . ” These were 2nd and 3rd generation of those that had come out of Egypt. Someone said, “The first generation has convictions. By the second generation they are merely preferences. And by the third generation, they are gone altogether.” Today, the Lord’s churches are producing generations which “know not the Lord nor His works” (and I would say, nor His Word). Many teens and young adults know little about the Bible. They often don’t know what we believe or why we believe it. Many are “Baptist” only because “that's the way I was raised,” or “that's what mom and dad are/were.” Many churches and church members do not have a powerful influence with or testimony to the lost about them. So let’s examine that generation of Judges 2:10:

I. IT WAS A GENERATION VOID OF LEADERSHIP.

II. IT WAS A GENERATION OF UNREALIZED POTENTIAL.

III. BUT (SADLY) IT WAS A GENERATION THAT BROUGHT DARKNESS TO LIGHT.

I believe it is “crunch time” in America. In case you haven’t noticed it . . . There is and has been for some time an all out war against God, against Jesus, and against the Bible in this nation. This war is coming rapidly to the Lord’s churches and in an ever increasing degree. We may feel like we are enjoying a “lull” in the fighting at the present moment, but I can guarantee you that the sinister minister of evil, Satan himself, is operating under the surface and behind the scenes preparing his next attack for the days to come. It is high time that someone, or many “someones,” stand up and sound the warning that there is danger ahead. Some might consider Shamgar a ‘nobody’ because his name appears only twice in the Scripture, but the Bible is filled with accounts of people who appear on its pages for just a moment and then promptly disappear. Do you know who ADINO was? II Samuel 23:8 says he was one of David’s mighty men who “lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.” II Samuel 23:9-10 says ELEAZAR, another of David’s mighty men “arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword . . . ” There was SHAMMAH (II Samuel 23:11-12) who “stood in the midst of the ground, (a field) and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.” Then there was the Israelite maid who told Naaman about the God of Israel which led to his being healed of his leprosy (I Kings 5:1-4). Even Joseph of Arimathea who, at great personal risk, asked for the body of Jesus so in that he might bury Him in his own tomb (John 19:38-42). The list could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. It seems that God often uses the unknown and the obscure to accomplish His work. Why? I Corinthians 1:26-29: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Shamgar is no exception. He appears in two verses in the Bible. He is used of God. And then vanishes away. The Bible gives us information on the first two judges mentioned in this third chapter. First we read about Othniel. Othniel was Caleb’s nephew, the son of his younger brother. Then we see Ehud. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, a Benjamite. But when we come to Shamgar, and God has chosen not to tell us much about him. As I said, he is only mentioned twice -- Judges 3:31 ; 5:6. But, what is said of him reveals his character and his courage. Though he is relatively unknown to us, God knew him and used him in a great way. Some say SHAMGAR means either “sword,” or “cupbearer.” Either would fit with what we know of him. He was like a sword in the hand of God as He was used to defeat Israel’s enemies. He was like a cupbearer as he brought the cup of God’s wrath upon them. But his name could also mean “overthrower,” for he overthrew 600 Philistines. He is called “the son of Anath.” Some say that is because. . . His father’s name was Anath. But if that is so, we know little about his father. Or, that he was from Beth-anath (house of Anath) in upper Galilee. The area was given to the tribe of Naphtali in the division of the land. According to Judges 1:33 Naphtali did not “drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them.” Some have even suggested “son of Anath” might have been a nickname. ANATH = the Canaanite goddess of war. They say he may have been given that nickname because he was a “warrior.” Whatever the case, just as I Corinthians tells us, God can take those the world considers “nobodies” and do mighty things through them. We only have to make ourselves available. In this message we will see that . . .

I. SHAMGAR WAS A WORKER.

II. SHAMGAR WAS A WARRIOR.

III. SHAMGAR BECAME THE WINNER.

Today in America someone is paying to have billboards erected that say, “Jesus is not God.” I don’t know what your response to this is, but I, for one, am outraged over it. This is not just an attack on Christianity, but an attack on Jesus Christ Himself. I like the photo I saw of a man who had climbed the billboard and was painting over the word “NOT.” People may deny Jesus, but that will not negate the fact that He is God. People may deny Jesus, but His is the only name governments ban, cultures mock, demons fear, and persecuted believers cling to with their lives. “You don’t silence a name unless it carries power.” In this series of messages we have already estabilished: 1) The reality of God - that He is. 2) That the Bible is the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God. So today we are going to go to God’s Word and see that it tells us that Jesus is God. All 4 of the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - present Jesus to us, but John’s account of the life of Christ is different. The book John was the last of the “Gospels” to be written. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called “Synoptic Gospels.” (SYNOPTIC = providing a general view or summary; to see together. It describes something comprehensive and unified.) They contain many of the same accounts and teachings as John but are presented from a different angle. Yet, each is fully inspired by the Lord. In John’s account of the life of Christ we see a side of our Lord the others do not show. John was a part of what is called the “inner circle,” those few disciples that were with the Lord during some of His most intimate moments. Matthew 17:1-2: “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart (2) And was transfigured before them . . . ” (APART = by themselves; privately.) Matthew recorded this event, but according to vv. 1-2 he was not with them. Where was he? Based on vv. 14, 16 he apparently was left at the base of the mountain. “14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, (16) And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.” Mark 14:32-34: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. (33) And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; (34) And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.” John is referred to as the disciple the Lord loved - John 19:26: “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!” John is the only one of the apostles to record the Lord’s final words -- John 19:30: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” So John gives us 21 chapters that present different facets of the divine character of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first chapter, John paints a picture of Jesus as the Word of God. That is the image we will focus on today. First, John tells us that . . .

I. JESUS IS THE PRE-EXISTENT WORD -- VV. 1-3.

II. JESUS IS THE PERSONALIZED WORD -- VS. 14.

III. JESUS IS THE PROCLAIMING WORD -- VS. 18.

We saw last week that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant, infallible, authentic, and perfect Word of God. We should value our Bibles. We do not worship them as we would worship our Lord, but we are to value them. Just think, as we stand here and hold our Bibles we hold in our hands the precious Word of God. Let that sink in a moment. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a great Baptist preacher/pastor in England in the 1800s. He shared a message with his congregation titled, “How To Read The Bible.” I am not going to try to preach Spurgeon’s message, but reading the sermon caused me to consider how I read the Scriptures (and, possibly, how many who are saved read it) as well as consider how I should read them. In Spurgeon’s day he said, “I am afraid that this is a magazine reading age, a newapaper reading age, a periodical reading age, but not so much a Bible reading age as it ought to be.” Today is not much different except that we are in an electronic age. Most of our reading today is likely done online, and there is more available to read than in Spurgeon’s day. Tons of online magazines, newspapers, articles, etc. are available to us. How much of our time does the reading of Facebook posts take up on a daily basis? (And, of course, we know that everything we read on Facebook is true, right?) There was a time when people had a scant supply of reading material, but they found a whole library to read from in the Bible. Too much “Bible reading” today is little more than merely scanning the Scriptures. But Jesus said, “Search the scriptures . . . ” (John 5:39). [SEARCH = to seek; to investigate. (An investigation involves more than mere scanning.)] The setting of part of our text - Matthew 12:1-8. Jesus and His disciples are going through a field of corn on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and “began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.” [PLUCK = pull off. Some say they were rubbing/rolling the ears of corn in their hands (to remove the husks or whatever might have been on them).] The scribes and Pharisees viewed this as “threshing” the corn, which was forbidden on the Sabbath (even when one was hungry), so they called Him into question. Notice the Lord’s answer, (vs. 3) “Have ye not read?” (vs. 5) “Have ye not read?” (Essentially, “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?”) The scribes and Pharisees were great readers of the Law. The Pharisees were the lawyers. Surely they should have read. The scribes scrupulously copied the Law, and they should have read. They even made notes as to which was the middle verse of the Old Testament, which was halfway to the middle, how many times a word occurred, and even how many times a letter occurred, the size of the letter, and it peculiar position. The Lord's question was a cutting inquiry to these intense readers of the Law. Jesus insinuated that though they might have read the words, they missed the true meaning of what they read - (vs. 7) “But if ye had known what this meaneth . . .” That is the equivalent of, “You have not read because you have not understood. Your eyes have gone over the words, and you have counted the letters, you have marked the position of each verse and word, you have said learned things about all the books, yet you have not acquired the art of reading. You have not read it, for you do not understand it.” Sadly, much of what we call Bible “reading” is not true reading at all. One source defines “reading” as “the complex process of interpreting written symbols (letters, words) to understand meaning.” Webster’s Dictionary says it is “to receive or take in the sense of.” If we are not careful in our reading, our eyes will pass over the words and the sentences will go over our minds without our ever understanding what we have seen. This can happen easily, especially when we set aside a certain number of chapters or verses we want to read on a daily basis. When we try to “squeeze in” our reading at the end of the day. When we try to read hurriedly in order to “get on to the next thing on our schedule.” In order to truly read the Scriptures we must:

I. SEEK AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE READ.

II. SEE THE INSTRUCTION OF THE WORD.

III. SATISFY YOUR SOUL WITH THE BLESSINGS OF THE WORD.

If you will take your stand today on what the Bible teaches someone will ask you, “Why do you believe the Bible?” Probably 9 out of 10 people would reply, “Because it is the Word of God.” That would prompt the question, “How do you know it is the Word of God?” Here is the attitude of so many people today. They say, “Well the Bible is a good book. It is full of good stories. It teaches some good lessons. But I don’t believe it is the Word of God.” They seek to disregard the Bible. They say it is outdated, especially the KJV with its 1600’s phrasing and language. (That’s why there are so many “translations” that do damage to the beauty of the Word and are little more than commentaries.) Today, few want to spend a great deal of time in study. They want everything short, and sweet, and easy to read. IF they read the Bible at all, they don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it. II Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” STUDY means to give diligence; make an effort; be earnest. (It implies labor.) How much diligence do you give to daily Bible reading? (There is more to reading than merely calling the words of the text.) These also say that the Bible is not relevant or important today. God is always relevant, and God’s Word is always relevant and important. You can read and study the Bible and know more about what is going on in the world today than those reporting the news, or those sitting in Congress! Some distort the Bible. They try to twist the Scriptures to make them say what they want them to say. Galatians 1:6-7: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (PERVERT = to turn across; transmute; corrupt. It is from a word that means “to turn quite around or reverse.) That is what a lot of these modern so-called translations do. There are those who despise the Bible. These are the ones who are opposed to anything that has to do with Christ or that we as believers in Him stand for. They say things like, “I am not going to let some ancient book control my thinking and my living!” There are many who deny the Bible. They simply do not believe it is God’s holy Word. They question it like Satan did when tempting Eve, “Yea, hath God said?” That was the first assault on the Bible, and Satan has been attacking it ever since. But, do you know where one can find the greatest enemy of the Bible? Right here! The greatest enemies of the Bible are often found in the Lord’s churches among those who say they believe the Bible but only give it lip service to the fact that it is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authentic Word of God! They don’t read and study it. They don’t know it. They don’t live by it. They don’t stand on it or for it. Why is the total inspiration of the Bible important? If the Bible is not inspired of God we have NO Divine authority on earth. If only part of it is inspired, who is wise enough to determine which part is inspired and which is not? (Isn’t my opinion just as good as yours?) If the Bible is not inspired, then it lies about itself because it testifies of it inspiration (II Timothy 3:16-17 ; II Peter 1:20-21). The inspiration of the Scripture gives a trustworthiness, an authority, and a profit to the Bible which is altogether Divine. And, it speaks this Divine word immediately to each reader’s heart. Especially in these days in which we are living we must know and be assured as we lean on the Bible that it truly IS the Word of Almighty God. Satan cannot disturb, disrupt, damage, or destroy us if we will stand on the Bible. In this message I will give several reasons why I know the Bible to be the Word of God. We know the Bible is the Word of God . . .

I. BECAUSE IT IS SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE.

II. BECAUSE IT IS HISTORICALLY ACCURATE.

III. BECAUSE OF ITS FULFILLED PROPHECY, HARMONY OF SCRIPTURES, INDESTRUCTIBLE

NATURE, POWER AND INFLUENCE.

Today’s message is the first of several in which I ask the simple question, “Why?” “Why Do You Believe In God?” You may wonder, “Why would a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ propose such a question?” Well, let me ask you, “Have you ever thought about that question?” What if someone - some stranger, friend, or relative - asked you that question How would you answer? I want to share a story I read recently. I don’t know if this is a true story, but I have read often refer to a child of some well known preacher, televangelist, or megachurch pastor that has turned away from God. I do not know if the man in our story was either of those, but he was a pastor. His son had been in church since he was a baby. He professed to be saved at one point. He was considered by many in the church his dad pastored to be a “good Christian.” Yet, one day he said to his preacher father, “Dad, I have decided I am an atheist.” His father was stunned! How could this be? His dad finally said, “We taught him what to believe, but we never shared the why of believing it." Folks, WE ARE LOSING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE!!! Fewer and fewer are choosing to accept Christ at a young age and serve Him all their lives. (The longer a child goes without being saved, the less likely it is that he/she will ever be saved.) And of those who do give their hearts and lives to Jesus at a young age, many will abandon Him and their service of Him in their late teens and beyond. (We have seen it.) Some of this is the fault of parents! A WORD OF WARNING TO FATHERS: A child is not just Mom’s responsibility! In fact, Dad, that child is one of YOUR greatest responsibilities! Ephesians 6:4: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Proverbs 29:15: “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” What would you do if a child, a grandchild, a great-grandchild, a nephew, or a niece came home from college one day and announced, “I am an atheist?” We who are older grew up in a time when most of those in our and our parents’ circle of friends, at the very least, believed in God. But we live in a time when people (and especially our youth) are being taught to QUESTION EVERYTHING . . . in the music they listen to, in the movies and TV shows they watch, and even in the video games they play. Satan has a target on our young people, and he has done and is doing a job on young believers today. They are his primary target. So, what are you going to say when a child, or a teenager, or a young adult, or someone else asks, “Why do you believe in God?” This morning I want to share why I not only believe in God, but why I KNOW He is!

I. I KNOW GOD IS REAL BECAUSE OF THE COSMOS.

II. I KNOW GOD IS REAL BECAUSE OF THE CREATION.

III. I KNOW GOD IS REAL BECAUSE OF CONSCIOUSNESS (OR CONSCIENCE).

IV. I KNOW GOD IS BECAUSE HE DWELLS WITHIN ME.

Vv. 1-3 give us the setting of our text. In these 3 verses Paul . . . 1) Encourages these believers to “rejoice in the Lord . . . ” 2) But to keep an eye out for false teachers, especially the Judaizers. He calls them dogs, evil workers, and “the concision” (lit. mutilators). Paul had set before the Philippians the fact of Christ and His sacrifice for believers. Jesus is the center of our faith. He is to be the desire of our hearts, our all in all. In vs. 10 Paul states his desire to be lifted above the cares of this world/life. (It is only in Christ that one can really live for God.) Paul set his face to do God’s will and looked forward to the time when he would be called into the presence of the Lord. He summed it up by saying, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain” (1:21) His life was a determined life for Christ. The principle by which he lived is stated vv. 13-14: “. . . forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This is the very principle by which we should live. We should admit our sins and failures of God, repent of them, be sorry for them, learn from them, but we should not lament or grieve constantly over them. We must put them in the background and move on for Christ’s sake. Today we stand at the threshhold of a new year for Christ. There are 51 more Sundays, 52 weeks, and 361 more days to live for our Lord this year. How will we use them? What will we do for Christ this year? Will we be faithful in our living for the Lord in 2026? I want to share with you a recipe which will assure the spiritual success of this church and each member in the coming year and will give us a truly happy new year. There are some things that we must leave behind, and there are some we must take with us into the new year.

I. THERE ARE SOME THINGS TO LEAVE BEHIND.

II. THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE MUST TAKE WITH US.

Jeremiah vs. Hananiah is the classic battle of truth vs. error, of those who preach God’s message vs. those who preach what people want to hear. Jeremiah was a man of God and a God-pleasing prophet. Hananiah was of the world, a false preacher who sought to please those who heard him. Hananiah sought to please the ego of the king. He was the type that would find out what the king wanted to hear, then preach that. He preferred to deliver a syrupy sermonette in order to boost the self-image of his hearers. Jeremiah sought to please God. He was prepared to tell the truth, regardless of what it might bring upon him. He preached a plain message that was not popular with the crowd. It was a message of God’s condemnation and coming judgment. These 2 approaches to preaching are still with us today. (I don't need to tell you which is preferred by the world.) I Timothy 4:1-2: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. . .” II Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Jeremiah 27:1-6, 9-10, 14-15 & 28:1-4, 10-11, and our text present this confrontation. We also see the culmination of this confrontation. Hananiah has sown to the wind, and he will reap the whirlwind. He will be called to give a personal account of his false word at the judgment bar of God. It is encouraging in this day of apostasy, to read of the ultimate triumph of good over evil, the triumph of truth over error. We need such encouragement. But Hananiah is at the center of our thoughts today as he is told by Jeremiah, “Within the year God will require your life of you.” How would you like to be told you were going to pass from this life within the next year? Do you think about it? Several of our members left this life in the past year, and we would not even have imagined at the start of the year they would do so? We don’t like to be reminded of death. The desire to survive is as natural as breathing. Most of us know to go and be with the Lord is far better, but we desire to live here, also. This was the dilemma Paul faced in Philippians 1:23-24. He said: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (24) Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” Why did the Lord include this account of Jeremiah and Hananiah in His Word? So we might reflect upon the brevity of life? -- James 4:14: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” So we would not make the mistake of the rich man in Luke 12 and become prideful and presumptuous about life? Luke 12:17-19: “. . . he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” James 4:13-14: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: (14) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.” Proverbs 27:1: “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” But what if God said to you or me, “This year, thou shalt die . . . ” What would our reaction be? Let us consider. . .

I. JUST ONE YEAR TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD -- (SOLITUDE).

II. JUST ONE YEAR FOR DEEPER COMMITMENT -- (SURRENDER).

III. JUST ONE YEAR TO SERVE OTHERS -- (SERVICE).

IV. JUST ONE YEAR TO BE A BETTER STEWARD - (STEWARDSHIP).

V. JUST ONE YEAR TO WIN SOULS FOR JESUS -- (SOUL-WINNING ; WITNESSING).

The Bible does not argue facts. It simply sets the truth before us, and we will either accept it or reject it. We who are saved should be quite familiar with these verses. They present the account of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Christmas season. Regardless of the commercialism that accompanies it, and the world’s opposition to it, the season brings to mind one of, if not the greatest of God’s timeless truths - the virgin birth of Jesus. But, what does this season mean to you? To some it means hard work, crowded stores, running here and there. To others it may mean a time with family, etc. or, it may bring sadness and sad memories as we observe the holiday while missing loved ones who are no longer with us. But to millions, even billions in this world it means absolutely nothing at all because they do not know Jesus as Savior. In 2017 belief in the Virgin Birth among all Americans had dropped to 66%. To the saved, we realize that Christmas reveals the love and foreknowledge of God (John 3:16 ; Galatians 4:4-5). To us it means that God has regarded mankind in his lost and sinful condition and has given the best gift ever. It means that God has provided a Savior, Jesus, who was born to die for our sin, raised for our justification, and who has ascended to make intercession for us. It also gives us the hope of His return for all believers - John 14:1-3. In Jesus we have a: Companion for life, a Friend in the hour of death, and a loving Brother for eternity. But, if we are to truly have a right Christmas, there are some things we must do, some responsibilities we have, and we the it in this account of His birth. To have a right Christmas as believers . . .

I. WE MUST MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS.

II. WE MUST WORSHIP HIM.

III. WE MUST GIVE TO HIM.

IV. WE MUST TELL OTHERS OF HIM.